So where did the brothers Tsarnaev get the firepower for the Watertown shootout and would background checks have made a difference?

In light of the gun safety defeat and the shootout with the two Boston Marathon bombing suspects, I’ve been wondering how the two bombers acquired the firearms.

We know they used handguns and a rifle to wage a gun battle with cops. I also know that a pressure cooker and most of the components of the bomb are legal and easy to obtain. I’m not calling for a crackdown on pressure cookers. And yes. I know the bombing, a true act of terror, is the brutal action that we must continue to condemn.

At the risk of being accused of missing the forest for the trees, where did they get the weapons? I find this as question as intriguing as their backgrounds and motives. As I understand it, Massachusetts has pretty strict gun laws but that the surrounding states do not. — a dynamic similar at work in Chicago vs. surrounding counties and states.

I’m guessing the younger brother was too young to have acquired the weapons and I’ve seen no story suggesting that the older brother had a weapons permit. My guess and it is only a guess is that if the brothers were part of broader conspiracy that might explain how they could have obtained the weapons from a straw buyer.

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The Dallas Morning News Editorial Board was the first editorial board in the nation to use a blog to openly discuss hot topics and issues among its members and with readers. Our intent is to pull back the curtain on the daily process of producing the unsigned editorials that reflect the opinion of the newspaper, and to share analysis and opinion on issues of interest to board members and invited guest bloggers.